People are the heart of success for the California Emerging Technology Fund. There is no substitute for leadership—individuals in all segments of the community and at all levels of government taking personal responsibility to make something happen. From the very beginning, CETF identified building partnerships with community leaders as a bedrock concept in its Strategic Action Plan. That evolved into “Civic Leader Engagement” as the first of the 5 Overall Strategies. In 2007, CETF conducted intense Fact Finding Meetings to listen to community organizations, civic leaders, and local government officials to gather input about strategies and best practices in Digital Inclusion. This process underscored the magnitude of the challenges and reinforced the premise that CETF had to “invest in people” to accomplish its mission—support existing leaders with commitment and passion as Digital Champions and develop their organizational capacity to promote Digital Inclusion. It was clear that CETF must become a Catalyst for Action while relying on many other people as pioneers and trailblazers to complete the job of closing the Digital Divide. The section honors the People who have made a difference over the last decade in advancing Digital Inclusion for the future of California.
